Off Season Family Vacation: A Blogger’s View of Ocean Reef

After a recent anniversary trip for the Arabia family, Renee Arabia blogged about her visit to Ocean Reef Resort on her blog “Next Generation Stay at Home Mom,” giving one mom’s perspective on an oceanfront vacation with a toddler in tow. Renee was kind enough to share the post with us, and we thought we’d share her thoughts with you, as well!

Here are some excerpts from her recent post:

“… We ended up staying at the Ocean Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C. We had stayed there before and liked it and they offered great out of season prices, plus they have a ton of amenities and they are right on the beach. We were able to get a king size bedroom suite with ocean front views. It was breathtaking. The rooms are nice because they have a fridge, stove, microwave, sink and washer and dryer so it’s like a mini condo on the beach. Which definitely comes in handy when you have children.

We ate at some great places including a burger joint in walking distance from the hotel, Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant and Horst Gausthaus, a German restaurant. Even though it was much colder then normal for this time of year, it was still sunny. We were able to walk on the beach and collect shells and stones. We played in their pool area. They had a lazy river and a toddler splashing area as well as a regular pool that Xavier loved swimming in every night.

We even hung out on the lounge chairs outside in the garden over looking the ocean one morning. One of my favorite places to visit was Barefoot Landing, they have some really neat shops there and we were able to give Xavier his first carousel ride! I was very excited. Probably more then Xavier but he did seem to enjoy it!

Having a suite was nice because we could put Xavier in one room and we slept in another which helps because Xavier talks in his sleep which leads us to checking on him constantly. So at night when it was quiet we would sit on our balcony over looking the ocean and talk. It was like a second honeymoon with our kid and it was exactly what we needed.

The Ocean Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC is a place I would highly recommend you visit. They offer a wide variety of rooms at reasonable prices. They are located directly on the beach and have a ton of fun water slides and things for children. (seasonal hours vary for the water park, though we were there in the off season and thought there was still plenty to do). The staff is very friendly and the resort is extremely clean. In fact my sister pointed out to me that they have “no encounters on record” for bed bugs from the bed bug registry.

… All in all for the price it was far superior than we expected and we will definitely be returning.”

Thank you for sharing your experience with us Renee!

(posted 12/7/13)